Your description of the #FuriouslyHappy FOW girl really touched me, because moments of joy like that are indescribably precious and can carry you through other, less joyful times. Then, I got kind of sad, because your description of why she had the chance to experience such a perfect moment made it clear that it was predicated on her or her family having enough money to go on this cruise. What if your readers and JoCo's fans pulled together some donations to support a trip for a couple of people on the next cruise, sort of a #FuriouslyHappy Geek Summer Camp scholarship, maybe for folks stuck in less joyful times? I'd kick in a few bucks, even though I couldn't afford to go myself.

Your life sounds really nice right now.

That one is going to stay with me. You know how some of the short stories you read, whether they're science fiction or Goosebumps, just stick in your head forever? This story is sticky.

p.s. They're playing in Portland, OR on April 29th and Anaheim, CA on May 7th, although they're the opening act at both shows.

AMAZING! Telekinesis has been my new favorite band since I heard their album streamed on NPR a few months ago. I saw them play in Cambridge last month, and it was possibly the best show I've ever been to. They are an incredibly joyful live band. Coincidentally, The Love Language opened. I am HOLY CRAP HAPPY that you've discovered them and love them, too!

Evil Wil Wheaton is even more awesome when he's allowed to work blue. CBS and FCC take note!

SuperPretzels? You can make them better. (1) Heat them for a shorter time than the instructions say. Heating according to instructions overcooks them. (2) Put a little water on your forefinger and spread it over the top surface of the pretzel before heating.

A friend of a friend built Fictopedia - a wiki for fictional facts! - and this is the first place I knew I had to share it. Enjoy, all you writers of the world. My friend Pam asks that you especially help enhance her entry on the scuba police. http://tv.gawker.com/5675997/open-source-world-building-with-fictopedia-the-fictional-encyclopedia http://www.fictopedia.net/Main_Page

PAX East keynote?! Sweet! I've been waiting for Gabe and Tycho to post more details about the schedule - like who's giving the keynote(s) - and even though I'd read on the forums that you'd be there, I didn't know you'd have such a prominent platform for your brand of awesome! Definitely go to Bukowski's while you're in Boston. It's right around the corner from the Hynes Convention Center, and it has a sublime beer list and awesome veggie chili dogs.

(1) Any chance you'd share the recipe for your vegetarian chili? It gets referenced a lot in your stories - must fuel the creative part of your brain - and every mention makes me hungry. (2) Got my ticket for Pax East. Will you be there?

I was looking at those pictures and wondering if they were from Montana. Nowhere else has that look. I'm hoping to go back to Glacier National Park for some camping next summer. Beautiful pictures that made me wish I was there right now, instead of sitting at my desk in Cambridge Mass.

What's with the photo of the guy in his underwear viewed through the motel window, at the end of the first montage? I feel like that must be a joke I'm missing.

The marketers should use that picture of you as a pull-quote. Most effective campaign ever!

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. I'm having trouble coming up with a good replacement term, though. How about "shtup?" It's silly and still clear on the meaning, and I think it has the right sound, if you know what I mean. My favorite lines: "(hey, he is French!)" and "the cast of Time Bandits"

Okay, I can't see my comment(s) but I'm going to assume they posted. D'oh.

Have you been to Funspot in Laconia / Weirs Beach, NH? It's totally worth the 2+ hour trip next time you're in the greater Boston area. The third floor is a "museum" of playable arcade games from the 80s that are (usually) in good working order. It was the setting for the documentary "King of Kong." My family's been going there on vacation for the past 25 years, and it's always a good time. There's also a beat-up minigolf course that I love beyond reason, an indoor bowling alley, and nightly bingo. http://www.funspotnh.com/

Have you ever been to Funspot in Weirs Beach / Laconia, NH? It's definitely worth a trip next time you're anywhere in the greater Boston area. Their entire third floor is vintage arcade games. It's classified as a museum, but they're all playable and (usually) in good working order. Really a fantastic experience for any videogame geek or child of the 80s. http://www.funspotnh.com/

Would somebody close the italics tag? This is a pretty funny bug in typepad.

Do you have a copy of Smofe & Smang, his live album from Minneapolis? If not, I'd be happy to send you one (all above board - it's not available anywhere, and he's granted me wink-and-nod permission to burn copies in exchange for donations to Doctors Without Borders). Oh, and he writes a good blog, too. Very eloquent guy on the web as well as in his lyrics.

Is this entry's title a quote from a Mike Doughty song? It took me a few minutes of hearing it sung inside my head before I could place it...I'd love to know if you're a fellow fan.

Wow. Wow, I love that. I laughed so hard. The funniest part by far is the internal consistency of language.

This is TEH BESTEST. http://i.gizmodo.com/5147344/the-japanese-giant-robot-show-to-end-all-giant-robot-shows Engine Oh G12 >> Voltron Discuss.

In a semi-related note, one of my friends has a agreed to have a Buffy-themed wedding if and only if her partner can get Joss Whedon to officiate. Any suggestions on how to go about making this happen would be super appreciated, because I really want to see this spectacle unfold.

Well, they did it for LOTR, so there's always hope.

Talking to a friend of mine with small children, I equated the scariness of this movie to the scenes from Sleeping Beauty with Maleficent and her dragon transformation.